This Prototype 2 Preview gives a quick look at what can be expected from Canadian Radical Entertainment’s open-world sequel to Prototype!
Prototype 2 is an upcoming video game set for release on April 24th 2012 under development by Canadian Radical Entertainment and is the sequel to the 2009 Prototype.
The game will feature a new protagonist, Sergeant James Heller as he goes on his quest to destroy the Blacklight Virus once and for all. Despite there being only sightings for split-seconds, reports in the NYZ have stated that Alex Mercer has been coming out more and more often and that he is largely believed to be the main cause for all the deaths. Getting a phone call from his family, Sergeant James Heller learns of his wife’s fear of Blackwatch, he instructs her that they are the experts and for them to not fret as he will be home the next day from his tour in Afghanistan and Iraq. Heller returns to New York Zero to find Blackwatch burning the bodies of his family amongst others.
Taking place 14 months after Prototype, Manhattan has been quarantined and blocked from the other regions of New York City, which has been renamed New York Zero (NYZ) and has been divided into three regions. Each region stands for how affected New York City is by the Blacklight Virus.
Welcome back to the violent world of Prototype in this sequel. This interview with Ken Rosman, Studio Head of the action game at GDC 2011, reveals more about the title!
The demo of Prototype 2 is explored in this video/walk through with Matt Armstrong – the design director.
Check out this gameplay trailer for the action game Prototype 2 straight from E3 2011 and get ready to murder your maker.
And go behind the scenes with the development team of Prototype 2 in these two videos; the first details the two core characters, the second outlines the power of the tendrils in-game!
Key Features of Prototype 2
Here is a list of key elements that will be available in Canadian Radical Entertainment’s Prototype 2 based on news and announcements made so far.
The game will be set in an open world and is to be shown through a third-person view perspective.
Shape-Shifting
Like Alex Mercer, James Heller can shape shift and assume other people’s identities and memories by consuming them. Taking peoples’ identities and shape-shifting into them has become more tactical. Due to Blackwatch’s actions in the Yellow Zone, if the player assumes the role of a soldier, people will react back to him in a way that they show they want nothing to do with him.
Zones & Missions
Each region of NY City falls into a color-coded zone:
- The Red Zone is the home of Alex Mercer, in it the Blacklight Virus grows unhindered, thrives and mutates.
- The Yellow Zone is a triage area full of shanty towns and the poor, it is very crowded and while the virus grows there, it is at a minimum and Blackwatch is also using the Yellow Zone as a petri dish.
- The Green Zone is non-infected New York City, except there is a heavy Blackwatch presence.
James Heller will have missions in each zone and each mission’s difficulty will depend on which zone it takes place in. Unlike the original, Heller will not be given his missions by a person, but rather choose them himself. Hacking onto Blacknet, a system of Blackwatch that details military operations and the three areas of NYZ, Heller chooses his own missions.
Weapons
Heller will be able to use weapons in the game, such as ripping the cannon off of a tank and using it against enemies. Heller can also sneak up on unsuspecting human enemies, inject the Blacklight virus in them and create a “BioBomb” out of them to blow up objects, enemies and such.
“Dodging” & Improved A.I. Systems
To make sure that enemies do not overwhelm the player, Radical has created a dodging system and new, more realistic AI.
“Sonar Sense”
James Heller also has improved strength, movement, invulnerability (self-healing and endurance), and has a sonar sense. The sonar includes a new pulse ability that highlights the key features of an environment to make it easier for the player to find something or someone, instead of looking in a large crowd for a person with an icon above their head.
Tendrils
To give gamers more power in the game, the developers have added tendrils. Tendrils sprout from Heller’s arm and can be used for a variety of purposes, such as reaching out into the game environment. Players can use tendrils to smash objects into other objects, such as a car into a tank or vice-versa. Also, players can string up enemies into “webs”, much like the abilities of Spider-Man, to make them vulnerable for further attacks.
New Attacks
Players will be able to dismember all enemies, a force that will become more useful as the game progresses. There are many more ways to kill enemies, ranging from throwing a tank at group of Blackwatch soldiers, hacking off a mutants head or using the tendrils. In the original game, players could only take down helicopters with a “ninja-kick”, in Prototype 2 they have many more options available such as an uppercut, or the use of tendrils.
Check out the official trailer!
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Take a look at our Prototype 2 Screenshots Gallery!